


The Wolf's Little Lion

by itsYOUiSEVER



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: A Game of Thrones, Canon-Typical Violence, Cersei thinks she is hurting Tyrion but she is wrong, F/M, Forced Marriage, Friendship/Love, I love Tyrion, I never liked Shae so she may not be in here, King's Landing, Lies, Original Character-centric, Protective Tyrion, Romance, Season/Series 01, Tyrion deserves the world, Westeros, Winterfell, Witty Bronn, starts in season 1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-05 03:09:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6686767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsYOUiSEVER/pseuds/itsYOUiSEVER
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You are my little lion and I, your wolf of winter."</p><p>Eliana Stark has lived in the comfort of Winterfell all her life. She has never had the need to play the game of thrones but that all changes when the king and his company arrives in Winterfell, seeking her father to be the Hand of the King. She learns very quickly that people are not what they seem and there are very little people you can trust. Sometimes the people who make face that they are not monsters, really are the true monsters and those who make face that they are monsters, are the ones to be trusted.</p><p>Tyrion Lannister was always a face she knew she could trust but he just might be her undoing</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The White Wolf of Winterfell

_ Chapter One ~ “The White Wolf of Winterfell” _

 

Eliana Stark stood vigil at the entrance to Winterfell awaiting her father and brothers' return from her father's duty with the deserter from the Wall. She always waited for her family's return when they left to go hunting or do whatever it was the men of the Stark family needed to do outside of Winterfell. She was always afraid one of them would come back wounded or on the back of their horse dead because of an accident. She had wanted to come along with them but Ned had told her she couldn't because she was too prone to illness.   
  
Eliana was more Stark than she was Tully. She had long brown hair that stretched down to her lower back the same color as her father’s. She had her mother’s facial structure but all the rest of her appearance was Stark down to her light gray eyes. At one point in time, her hair had lost all color to it due to a severe illness she had suffered as a child but overtime, the chestnut brown color had returned.    
  
Remnants of her once white hair still lingered on a few strands of her brown hair, weaving amongst the chestnut strands. Eliana’s skin was pale and it had never regained color since she had gotten sick at a young age. She tended to look rather sickly most of the time and her skin was easily blemished, bruises often appeared out of nowhere. She easily caught colds which often turned into horrible illnesses that a healthy person wouldn't suffer from. Due to the illness Eliana suffered from as a child, she had become barren, that was what the Maester told her mother, and it wasn't likely that she would ever be married let alone leave Winterfell. No Lord wanted a barren wife or a wife that could come down with a small cold only to become gravely ill the next day.    
  
Eliana was beloved by her family and the people of Winterfell. She was often called the White Wolf of Winterfell by the townspeople even though she no longer had the white hair that had gotten her the name. Her mother adored her and allowed her to venture throughout Winterfell as she pleased. She didn't force Eliana to sit in a room with the old Septa and do needlework unlike she did with Arya who favored doing things Bran and Rickon were allowed to do and things Robb, Jon and Theon had been doing for some years. Robb and Jon had taught Eliana how to hold and use a bow and often practiced swords play with her when she wasn't keeping little Rickon hidden from the Maester. Rickon and Bran loved their elder sister and often could be found trailing along with her like little puppies as she wandered the streets of Winterfell.    
  
Arya and Sansa loved their sister for different reasons. Arya loved her sister because she let her practice archery without telling their mother about it and she gave her tips on her form showing her how to hold her sword and how to position herself. Sansa loved Eliana because she let Sansa make her dresses to wear even if she didn't like them all that much, Eliana still wore them for her sister even if she preferred to wear a tunic and some breeches like her brothers.    
  
That was what Eliana stood wearing at the gates of Winterfell. She wore one of her twin's tunics under a thick coat lined with fur and a cloak that too was lined with fur, a pair of riding breeches she had gotten from her father as a nameday gift and she adorned thick fur lined boots on her small feet. Eliana was rather small for her age. Sansa even passed her up in height and she was closer to height with Arya and Bran but Bran was going to pass her in height very quickly. Eliana's hair was braided along the sides of her hair. The braids had thin strips of metal interwoven into them making her look rather fierce when she was anything but.    
  
Eliana perked up at the sound of hooves pounding against the ground and made her way to the gates to meet her father and brothers. She smiled at the sight of her little brother riding with pride on his own horse but furrowed her brow when she saw Jon, Robb and Theon riding with something in their arms.    
  
It was only when they got closer that Eliana saw that they were holding animals in their arms. Bran too had an animal in his arms while Jon, Robb and Theon each held two in their grasps. Ned Stark stopped his horse next to his eldest daughter and got off of the majestic creature gracefully with years of skill behind him before he bent and placed a soft kiss on her pale cheek.    
  
"We come bearing gifts." Ned said as Robb, Jon, Theon and Bran got down from their horses, though Bran needed help from Hodor while the elder three were able to get down themselves not as gracefully as Ned but with as much grace as expected while carrying something in their arms. When the boys stepped closer, Eliana then truly saw what they held in their grasp.   
  
Young direwolf pups. Seven of them. One for each Stark child plus Jon. Robb held in his arms two pups, one mostly white in color with gray fur littering the pureness of the white while the other was brown in color with splashes of black along its body. Theon held in his arms two pups, one was completely black in color while the other one white in color with gray fur that ran between its eyes on its ears and down its back to its tail.    
  
Jon stood before her with the same solemn look he always wore on his face with two pups cradled like babes in his muscled arms. One of the pups was pure white in color with eyes that seemed to be a deep red color. The other pup was considerably smaller than the rest of the pups and its fur was a mixture of auburn fur and deep black fur. Eliana looked up into Jon's eyes after staring at the smallest pup for some time and was met with a much more solemn look.   
  
"That one won't last the night, Eliana. He is very ill and doesn't look like he will make it much longer. I am sorry." Jon told her expecting Eliana to move onto another wolf pup but she didn't move from her spot in front of Jon instead she held her arms out and waited for Jon to hand the small pup to her. All four men and Bran watch as Eliana took the pup in her arms and whispered softly to it like her mother had done for her many times when she fell ill. Ned stood there with a sad smile on his face knowing that Eliana had already fallen in love with the little animal and would stay with it until it died.    
  
“Jakor," Eliana said loud enough for all five of them to hear. Ned looked at his daughter with a questionable gaze and waited for her to give an explanation to her random outburst. "His name is Jakor and he will live. You will all see." She spoke proudly as they all smiled at her but none of them believed her words.    
  
As Robb and Theon handed out the remaining pups to the other Stark children, Eliana walked with her father to the stables and kept Jakor closely to her chest for warmth. "Eliana, I want you to prepare yourself in case... Jakor doesn't survive the night. He is very ill. There may be nothing you or the Maester can do for him." Ned spoke softly to his seven and ten year old daughter as the young beauty looked up at him and smiled warmly at him. "Father, the Maester told Mother the same thing when I fell ill for the first time but here I am, living. I have no doubt in my mind that Jakor will live. He and I are one in the same. We are stronger than people think." Eliana responded respectfully as Ned handed his horse off to a stable boy and walked along with Elaina to find the Maester.    
  
Like Eliana had said to her father, Jakoe was stronger than they taught and made it through the first night showing signs of great improvement. While the other Stark children enjoyed and played with their direwolves, Eliana nursed hers back to full health and watched as Jakor grew faster than her siblings' direwolves. A few weeks after the direwolves arrivals, all of them had grown tremendously but Jakor outgrew them all and was almost twice the size of the other wolves. Jakor was very protective of Eliana and often was found sleeping in her room either at the foot of her bed or near her door guarding her from anyone who would seek to harm her.    
  
Not a month after the direwolves were brought to Winterfell, the king sent a raven to Ned speaking of Jon Arryn's sudden death and of how he and much of the royal court was riding for Winterfell. Eliana noticed the change in Ned's mood and knew that the King's visit couldn't mean anything good.   
  


* * *

 

The sun had just risen when a rider came through the gates of Winterfell announcing that the King was about a day’s ride away. After hearing that, everyone in Winterfell went straight to preparing for his arrival. Catelyn spent the early hours of the morning putting the finishing touches on Eliana’s dress while Sansa brushed through her older sister's hair. Sansa had always liked Eliana’s hair. It was soft and had a slight curl to the strands so really little ever had to be done with it. Eliana wanted Sansa to keep her hair simple like most Northerners did. Eliana couldn't stand the drawings of Southern hairstyles she had seen in the books that the Septa had her read. She didn't know how Southern women were even able to keep their heads up with all their hair at the top of their heads. 

The dress that Catelyn and Sansa had made Eliana was light gray in color with blue accents embroidering the fabric. It had a matching cloak for her to wear along with it because otherwise Eliana would end up catching a cold without it. Eliana wished that she didn't have to wear a dress but she understood just how important it was for her to look presentable. This was the King of Westeros. To come dressed in her riding clothes would be an insult to her King. 

As soon as Sansa was done with Eliana’s hair, Catelyn had her eldest daughter put the dress on the dress she had been working on. The dress fitted to Eliana’s lithe body and she honestly felt comfortable in it unlike most dresses that she was forced to wear. “You look beautiful, Eliana.” Sansa spoke in awe of her older sister as she walked around the brunette to get a good look at her dress. Eliana smiled at her sister and placed a hand upon her paled cheek. “You are too, Sansa. The prettiest of all Winterfell.” Eliana told her as she took her younger sister's hands in her own and spun the two of them around the room with their mother watching from a little ways away. 

“I must go check on the boys. You get ready, Sansa. I'll see you when the King arrives.” Eliana said to her sister as she embraced the redhead and pulled on the matching cloak over her shoulders, fastening it closed. “Don't worry, Mother. I'll make sure Rickon isn't causing too much trouble.” Eliana then left her mother and father's chamber and made her way down the familiar halls of Winterfell.

She knew where Bran was bound to be, but Rickon was another story. He could be a number of places but she knew that where Rickon was Shaggydog and Jakor couldn't be too far behind. Jakor, most of the time, stuck close to his mistress’s side but Catelyn didn't like having the direwolves in her chamber so Eliana had left Jakor to keep an eye on Rickon. Eliana checked her own chambers first, thinking that maybe she'd find Rickon snuggled up on her bed with Jakor and Shaggydog but she was met with an empty room. 

Jakor and Shaggydog looked very similar. Both had dark black fur but Jakor had streaks of auburn fur running down his back while Shaggydog was just pure black. The rest of the Stark direwolves were lighter in color with Jon’s Ghost being albino. Ghost fit the direwolf well because he made no sound when he moved and he often snuck up on Eliana, scaring her like a ghost would. 

The sound of light pitter-patter of feet echoed through the halls of Winterfell and Eliana knew whose feet the sound belonged to. Eliana stepped out of her chambers to find that wild little Rickon was running straight towards her with both their direwolves right behind him. Rickon leapt into his sister's arms and giggled loudly as she twirled around with him. Shaggydog and Jakor stopped just short of the two of them with their mouths open in a pant. Eliana smiled down at Jakor and reached down to gently stroke the top of his head in the spot she knew he loved. 

“Little wolf, what are you running from?” Eliana asked as the Maester came around the corner with his brow furrowed in frustration but once he saw the eldest Stark daughter, his brow unfurrowed and his gaze softened. “Don't worry, Maester. I've got this one.” The Maester smiled at her and turned all the way around, walking back the way he came from. 

“You are a little trouble maker, Rickon. Never change.” Eliana said to her brother who was still nestled in her arms and she nuzzled her face into the side of his neck, making him giggle and thrash around in her arms. “Why don't you and Shaggydog go find Father? See if you can make some trouble there.” Eliana suggested to him as she set him down on the ground beside her and nudged him towards the direction she knew their father was in. 

He ran off in that direction with Shaggydog right behind him, giggling as he knocked over various decorative pieces that were along the halls. Eliana shook her head at the young boy and set out to find Bran. She walked through the halls of Winterfell towards the outside and she could hear Jakor following just behind her. He would occasionally brush up against Eliana’s side and she would just bury her fingers into his fur, taking comfort in her direwolf. 

Eliana was met with a blast of cold air as she exited the main doors into the castle and she pulled her cloak closer to her body. To most Northerners, this weather wasn't all that bad but for Eliana, it was dreadfully cold. Since her sickness, her body never really got a hang on regulating her temperature again. Even sitting in front of a large fire, Eliana was still cold. The only time she ever really was warm was when she laid under the furs on her bed with Jakor by her side. 

Eliana walked into the main courtyard where almost all the occupants of Winterfell were moving about and she weaved her way through the crowd without much problem, mainly because of Jakor who snarled at anyone who got too close to her. Eliana saw Summer before she actually found Bran. Summer, Bran’s direwolf, was waiting at the foot of the tower that the young boy was climbing and she perked up when she heard her brother moving towards her. Eliana smirked up at her brother as he climbed higher up the tower and she knew that if their mother came out to find him up there, she'd throw a fit. 

“Are you trying to give Mother an early death?” Eliana yelled up to Bran who glanced down at her with a huge grin on his face. 

“I can see them, Elie! I can see the King!” Bran shouted back down to her as he began to descend down the tower.

Eliana could hear footsteps moving towards where she stood beside Jakor and Summer and she turned to see their mother looking up at Bran with concern on her face. Eliana smiled as Catelyn scolded Bran who looked down at his toes before promising not to climb anymore while the King was in Winterfell. Catelyn saw through Bran and she knew that he was lying when he told her he wouldn't climb. 

“Both of you, go find your father. We need to be ready for the King's arrival.” Catelyn told the two of them as they both scurried off to find Ned with their direwolves at their heels.

 

* * *

 

Eliana stood among her family as the king and his royal court rode into Winterfell. Jakor stood at the opposite end of the line from Eliana looking rather annoyed that he couldn't be standing before his mistress protecting her. Eliana found it rather amusing that her direwolf outgrew her siblings’. He had shown them that they were all wrong about him. He was stronger than all of them. Eliana held her right hand out flat, her palm facing the ground, signaling to Jakor that everything was alright and that she was safe. 

Eliana turned her gaze from her direwolf when she heard her mother whispering under her breath. “Where's Arya? Sansa,where's your sister?” Catelyn asked the redhead who just shrugged her shoulders but Eliana could see the curious brunette sitting in a wagon not far from them, watching as the King's court rode in. Eliana gently nudged her brother, Robb, in the side and nodded her head towards where their sister was hiding with a smile on her face. 

Arya glanced back at them only to meet Eliana’s eyes and Eliana quickly gestured for her to get in line. Arya nodded her head and weaved her way through the crowd and almost got past their father with a knight's helmet on her head but Ned stopped her and took it off much to Arya’s disappointment. Arya made her way to where she was supposed to stand in between Bran and Sansa with a huff of her breath and an annoyed look on her face. 

Eliana glanced down at the other end of the line where her mother and Rickon stood and she smiled at the young boy who was trying very hard to remain still. His eyes were pleading with Eliana to come rescue him but she knew her mother wouldn't like that at all. She simply just moved her hand and Jakor was at the boy's side. 

Eliana then turned her gaze to where all the people were flooding into Winterfell and she resisted the urge to scrunch her nose at the people she saw. All of them had a pettiness and arrogance to them with their heads held high and their colorful clothing. She bowed along with the rest of her people as the King rode in but that didn't stop her from glancing ever so slightly up at the King. He was an ugly man. At least in Eliana’s opinion, he was ugly. His belly was big and round and barely was held in by the leather armor he was wearing. His hair looked greasy from where she was bowed and his beard, well, Eliana could have sworn she saw food in it. 

The King got off his horse with the help of the stable boys and made his way right towards Ned but he did glance at Eliana who was blatantly looking directly at the King instead of having her head bowed. She quickly bowed her head and averted her eyes in the opposite direction of the King. The King then motioned for Ned and his people to stand up and that was what they did. 

Eliana had to stop herself from laughing at the words that came out of the King's mouth, calling her father fat. Ned didn't speak a word towards the King, he only nodded his head down at the King's belly which the King quickly laughed at. The two of them embraced before the King smiled at Eliana’s mother whom he hugged too. 

Eliana didn't listen as Ned and the King talked. Her attention was on the Queen who was stepping out of her carriage. She was a pretty woman, Eliana could admit that but she had a sternness about her that made her look frightening. “Where's the Imp?” Eliana heard Arya ask Sansa who quickly told her sister to shut up. Arya had been talking about meeting the Imp or Tyrion Lannister as was his given name since the arrival of the King’s letter. 

Eliana almost jumped as the King stepped in front of her and casted his eyes over her body. “And you. You're the  _ White Wolf of Winterfell _ . You aren't very white, are you?” He addressed Eliana as he reached forward and grasped a strand of white hair in between his fat fingers. “No, your grace but I once did have all white hair.” Eliana replied as he chuckled at her and kissed the top of her hand. He moved on down the Stark children, addressing each of them but Eliana noticed how the Queen only greeted her parents, not bothering to look down at Eliana and her siblings. 

The King then asked Ned to take him to the crypt but the Queen tried to object, telling him that they'd been riding for a month and the dead could wait but he didn't listen to her. Arts again asked where the Imp was and this seemed to spark something in the Queen who quickly turned away from the Starks and walked over towards her twin brother, Jaime. 

Eliana looked down when she felt fur rubbing up against her hand to find that Jakor had left Rickon’s side and had come over to her. She smiled down at her direwolf and gently rubbed the spot behind his ear that he loved. Eliana glanced back up at the Queen and her brother and saw that Jaime was wandering off towards the winter town. She wondered if Lord Tyrion had already arrived at Winterfell before the rest of the court. She decided that she was going to find out.

 

* * *

 

Eliana had an idea of where she'd find Lord Tyrion and she actually knew where that place was unlike Jaime Lannister. She had heard tales of the Half-Man’s sexual appetite and she knew that he had to be there. She truthfully had never been near the brothel in winter town before but she knew where it was because of Theon who had dared her to go inside it once but she had refused to do so. She wondered exactly how this would work. She knew that if a door in a brothel was closed, it would be wise not to open but she wanted to find Lord Tyrion, at least before his brother found him. She wanted to be able to brag to Arya that she had seen the Imp first.

Eliana stuck out in the brothel like a sore thumb and all eyes were on her. She tried not to look at all the exposed breast of the whores and went to find someone who could help her. She found a fully clothed woman who was pouring out pints of ale and she decided to ask that woman if she knew where to find Lord Tyrion. “Excuse me,” Eliana said to get the woman's attention. The woman's eyes snapped up towards Eliana and widened upon realizing who she was. “Could you help me find someone?” Eliana continued as she held the woman's attention. The woman simply nodded at Eliana and waited for her to tell her who she needed to find. 

“Has Lord Tyrion come in yet?” Eliana asked the woman who quickly nodded at Eliana and pointed at a room that had its door closed. “Thank you.” Eliana walked toward the closed door and pressed an ear to it, making sure that Tyrion wasn't in the middle of satisfying his appetite. When she heard nothing, she opened the door before quickly closing it behind her. 

“Back so soon.” A low voice asked from behind Eliana and she turned her body around to see a small man laying in the middle of a bed wearing nothing but his undershirt. She raised an eyebrow at him and made her way further into the room to give him a good look at her. “Oh, you're not Ros.” He said almost awkwardly as Eliana smiled down at him and nodded her head. 

“No, I am not, Lord Tyrion. I am Eliana Stark and you weren't at the King's arrival.” She smirked at him as she sat herself in the only chair in the room. Tyrion followed her as she moved across the room to sit down in the chair with confusion written across his face. “I have always wanted to meet you, Lord Tyrion. Your brother is looking for you. How long do you think it will take him to find this place?” Eliana asked him as he rolled his eyes at her and moved to start putting on the clothes that Ros had surely taken off. 

“The stories do not do you justice, Lady Eliana. You are definitely a beauty. The White Wolf of Winterfell indeed.” He said as he slipped on his breeches and gestured towards the white strands in her hair. She smiled at Tyrion’s words and watched as he stuffed his small feet into his boots. Once he was fully dressed, he stepped towards where Eliana was sitting and grasped her hand in his before pressing a gentle kiss to the top. It was then that Jaime entered the room. 

“Took you long enough, Brother.” Tyrion commented as he held his hand out for Eliana to take while he helped her stand up. “Lady Eliana already beat you to me.” Eliana smiled broadly as she turned towards Jaime Lannister and dusted off her dress. 

“Lord Tyrion, would you like me to show you around Winterfell in the morrow? I would be most pleased to do so.” Eliana asked him as she moved towards the door past Jaime. Tyrion seemed taken back by the question that Eliana posed to him but he quickly recovered and nodded his head at her, somehow unable to get any words out of his mouth. “I hope to see you at the feast tonight, Lord Tyrion. I expect a dance.” Eliana told him as she walked out of the room before he could reply and made her way out of the brothel. 

Jakor was waiting outside for her with a bored expression on his face which quickly turned when he saw that she had come out. He was immediately at her side and he growled lowly as Jaime and Tyrion walked out of the brothel. Eliana shushed her direwolf and laid a comforting hand against his fur, before looking up at the two men. “My lady, would you allow us to walk you back to Winterfell?” Tyrion asked her as he looked at Jakor with a unsettled gaze. 

“Why would I need you to walk me back when I have a direwolf, Lord Tyrion?” Eliana teased as she bent down to press a kiss to the top of Jakor’s head. Tyrion moved to take a step towards her, looking warily at Jakor who just met his gaze with a watchful eye pretty much telling Tyrion that if he made a wrong move, he'd be dead. Eliana was surprised that Jakor hadn't snarled again at Tyrion when he came to stand right in front of her. 

“It would be my absolute pleasure to walk you back to Winterfell, Lady Eliana.” Tyrion told her as she smiled down at him and nodded her head, gesturing for him to lead the way even though she knew that he didn't know the way back. Tyrion stopped short as he realized that he didn't know where to go and he found that Eliana was grinning broadly at him. “Looks like I will be walking you both back to Winterfell.” She commented as she moved ahead of the two Lannister men and lead the way back to Winterfell. Jakor kept close to Eliana’s side and would occasionally look back at Tyrion which unsettled the dwarf. 

Eliana Stark sure was something else.


	2. A Dance Between Houses

Ned Stark walked along the courtyard of Winterfell, contemplating the idea that Robert had proposed to him. Eliana was well beyond the age that most girls got married but she wasn't a normal girl. The sickness had taken that from her and even if the rumors about her being barren weren't true, no Lord would take her as a wife because of the possibility of her not being able to bare them a child. Even if they found a Lord okay with playing that kind of game, leaving Winterfell could expose Eliana to new illnesses that could very well take her life. Ned also wanted his eldest daughter to live her life especially after much of it had been taken from her. 

As a child, Eliana had been an adventurous little soul. That all disappeared when she caught a common cold and that spiraled into something that almost took her from them. She still was adventurous by nature but she never acted on it anymore. She couldn’t because of the risk of getting sick. She used to talk all the time about exploring Westeros and even going across the sea to Essos to see the Free Cities or possibly Dorne. Now there was only talk of living in Winterfell because she even knew that most lords wouldn’t bother to marry a lady who couldn’t give them an heir. 

Ned wouldn’t even know where to start if he and Catelyn decided to find Eliana a husband. In his eyes, no one deserved to be wed to her. She was his first daughter and he wanted to protect her from the bad things in the world that they lived in. He wanted to give Eliana the world but giving her the world would have consequences. 

Ned was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of paws hitting against the dirt. He looked up to see Jakor making his way through the gateway that lead into Winterfell from winter town. He knew that Eliana couldn’t be far behind but when Eliana walked through the gate, Ned was surprised by who was accompanying her. Walking alongside Eliana was Tyrion Lannister and trailing not too far behind them was Jaime Lannister. Though Eliana’s attention wasn't on the Kingslayer which Ned was slightly happy about but her attention was on his brother. He knew the stories of Tyrion Lannister and he couldn’t help but be worried about his eldest daughter. Then again, Ned thought back to when Theon had a crush on Eliana and how she handled that and he couldn’t help but laugh to himself and the worry that he had felt for her had gone away. 

He watched as Jakor ran around Tyrion and Eliana and he was surprised to see that Jakor went right up against Tyrion’s side (the direwolf almost towered over the half-man) and he knew what Jakor was expecting, a ear rub. He wondered exactly what all had happened between the time that he was in the crypt and this moment in time. Jakor never was friendly with new people. He usually greeted with new people Jakor rarely was ever friendly with anyone who wasn’t a part of Eliana’s family. Yet here Jakor was seeking the half-man’s hand to scratch behind his ear. 

Eliana turned her gaze towards her father and smiled the biggest grin that he had ever seen on her face. Ned Stark, in that moment, didn’t know what to think. He was thrilled to see his daughter happy like she had been when she was younger but it was the person making her happy that he was wary about. 

“Eliana, Arya was looking for you.” Ned called out in an attempt to get his daughter away from the Imp. 

Eliana nodded her head at her father’s words and turned towards Tyrion who still was scratching behind Jakor’s ear. “I will be expecting that dance tonight, Lord Tyrion. I will search all of Winterfell to get it.” She told him with a smile on her lips as she bent down and pressed a kiss to his cheek. The skin on Tyrion’s cheeks turned a bright red color that his brother fought back from sniggering about. Eliana didn’t take notice of the change but instead moved to her father’s side to give him a kiss on his cheek and because Ned was much taller than Eliana, he had to lean down to allow her to press the kiss to his scruff covered cheek. 

“Do I not get a kiss, Lady Eliana?” Jaime Lannister asked Eliana as she turned away from her father to face the two Lannister lions. She smirked at the elder of the two blond men and sauntered over to him. As she get closer to Jaime, she changed direction and moved right in front of Tyrion, placing another kiss on his cheek. “We wouldn’t want Ser Jaime’s head to get too big now, would we?” Eliana joked as she moved back to her father’s side and winked at Jaime who was just shaking his head at her. “I expect that dance, Lord Tyrion. Don’t make me destroy Winterfell to find you tonight.” 

With that Eliana walked off towards the main door of the castle and made her way inside with Jakor trailing behind her. All three men were watching as she wandered out of sight. Ned Stark wanted what was best for Eliana and he wanted her to be happy with her life but he didn’t know if he’d be able to give her away to a man who might not see her full worth. Looking at Tyrion Lannister and the expression on his face, Ned wondered what was going through the half man’s mind. 

* * *

The scene that laid before Eliana made her laugh. Arya was standing in the middle of Eliana’s room with a practice sword in hand that she had stolen from training yard and she was hitting the wooden ends of Eliana’s bed with the blunt ends. The sword was a little too big for Arya and it was hard for her to hold upright. “Stupid Sansa.” Arya hissed through clenched teeth as she whacked the sword against the bed posts one last time before turning towards her eldest sister. 

“I see that you have slayed the evil bed monster.” Eliana said sarcastically as she walked all the way into her room and sat down on her bed. Jakor ran inside and leapt up onto the bed to lay beside his mistress. Arya glared at her sister and hit the bed post again in anger. Eliana raised an eyebrow at her and reached forward to take the practice sword in her own hands. “Guess who I met?” Eliana tried to get her sister’s mind of her hatred for their sister. 

“Who?” Arya grumbled with mild curiosity in her voice as she glared at the practice sword that Eliana had taken away from her. Eliana smiled at her sister and placed the sword so that it was resting against the edge of her bed. “I met Tyrion Lannister.” The look on Arya’s face turned from anger to genuine curiosity as she crawled up onto Eliana’s bed. Then Arya muttered the horrible name that had been given to Tyrion and Eliana furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. 

She understood Tyrion’s hate for the name Imp. Before she had been called the White Wolf of Winterfell, she had been called the Sickly Child of Winterfell. She had been around the age of six when she came down with the illness and she hated remembering that time. She had honestly felt like she was going to die in those moments. Her mind had also played tricks on her, making her see things that hadn’t been there but still showed up in her dreams eleven years later. 

“Do you remember seeing drawings of imps in the Maester’s books, Arya?” Eliana asked her younger sister as she looked up at the white and brown haired girl with confusion on her face, not entirely understanding where this conversation was going. “What do they look like? The imps, what do they look like?” Eliana walked over to the small desk in her room and grabbed the book that she had borrowed from the Maester that was all about different creatures that could be real or be a myth. Eliana flipped open the book to where she had left a piece of torn fabric and sat the book onto her sister’s lap. It was open to the pages about imps. Staring up at Arya was a grotesque creature. Something almost human with nothing on its body but its skin. It had long limbs that were so skinny Arya could see its veins popping out. Its face was animalistic and its eyes were bulging out of its head. 

“That is not what Tyrion Lannister looks like, Arya. You don’t know any better because you have never seen him but he is not an imp. He is a man. A half-man but he is a man.” Eliana stated as Arya hesitantly looked up at her sister and she felt ever so slightly bad for called him the Imp. Arya understood why her sister didn’t like the name. She had told Arya many times about how she didn’t like the name that had been given to her many years ago. “He has grown up with that name all his life. The southerners call him that. Let us not call him that as well.” Eliana told her sister as the younger of the two brunettes nodded her head in agreement and the two embraced for a long time. 

“I am sorry, Ellie.” Arya spoke as Eliana held her sister closer to her body and gently caressed the back of her head in an effort to bring Arya comfort. Eliana shushed her sister and pulled away to cradle her head in her pale hands. “Names hurt, Arya. Just remember that.” Eliana spoke as Jakor jumped off her bed and ran out into the hallway. 

The two Stark girls raised their eyebrows at the direwolf and walked out of Eliana’s room to see exactly what was going on. They were met with Jakor towering over a small human being. “Seriously stop licking me, dog.” Tyrion Lannister said as Jakor continued to lick the half-man despite being told to stop. The two girls laughed at the scene in front of them which caught Jakor’s attention and Eliana could have sworn that he was smirking up at them. 

“Jakor, come. Let Lord Tyrion get up.” Eliana said to the direwolf who reluctantly moved away from the half-man to his mistress’s side and Eliana stepped forward with a hand held out for Tyrion to take. Tyrion took the hand that was being held out to him and when he stood up, a good layer of slobber fell to the floor. “You seem to be a little lost, Lord Tyrion.” Eliana commented as she went into her room to find something to get Jakor’s slobber off of Tyrion’s jerkin and breeches and came back out with a small rag which she tossed in the half-man’s direction. 

“Just Tyrion, Lady Eliana.” Tyrion told her as he wiped the spit off of his body and dared to look up at the young lady standing before him. Eliana smiled down at him and returned the gesture, telling him to just call her Eliana. Jakor sauntered back over to Tyrion and rubbed up against his side as if he were trying to get something from the pouch that rested at Tyrion’s side. Eliana knew what must be in the pouch. Tyrion had given Jakor some raw meat from winter town’s butcher while Eliana had walked he and his brother back to Winterfell and Jakor was looking for more of that meat. 

“Jakor thinks that you still have some of that meat on you, Tyrion.” She told him as he smiled and ran his fingers down through Jakor’s thick fur. Eliana could tell that Tyrion needed some real relationships in his life. Not relationships with whores and lords but real relationships that had meaning behind them. Eliana wanted to give that to him even if she may never see him again after this visit. “Have you been shown your room yet, Tyrion?” Eliana asked him as she watched him interact with Jakor who had suddenly turned into a pup again upon Tyrion’s fingers reaching the spot just behind his ears. Tyrion only replied with a shake of his head and kept his eyes on Jakor who was loving the special treatment he was getting, though Eliana gave him the same treatment each night. To Jakor, Tyrion’s attention for whatever reason was different. 

“Let Arya and I take you to your room, Tyrion. We wouldn’t want you to wander Winterfell all night.” Eliana spoke as he looked up from Jakor and nodded his head at her suggestion. Eliana then gestured with a flat hand to Tyrion to follow her and she lead the way to his quarters with Arya at her side and Tyrion and Jakor trailing behind them. 

* * *

 

Eliana didn’t like the Queen. She disliked her very much. Eliana believed that the Queen also had the same opinion of herself. That much was evident with the words that the Queen first spoke to Eliana. 

Eliana had been sitting next to her mother when the Queen addressed her. “Eliana,” Cersei began, catching the younger woman’s attention. Eliana looked over at Cersei and was met with a very uninterested face. Eliana wondered if that was the Queen’s normal face or if she was just uninterested because she was in the North away from her home. “Why have you not been married off to a lord?” Cersei continued. The Queen’s words made Eliana stop all movements. She had been about to take a sip of the wine in her goblet but once those words were out of the Queen’s mouth, Eliana was no longer thirsty. Catelyn looked over at her daughter with sympathy, knowing that this particular subject was a sore one for the White Wolf of Winterfell. 

Eliana turned her gaze from the Queen and looked down at her hands which rested on her lap. “I am barren, your grace. No lord wants a barren wife.” Eliana muttered under her breath in embarrassment. She wasn’t a real woman because she couldn’t bare children. That was what women were for. They were for giving pleasure to men and to bare men children. Eliana could feel the Queen’s eyes on her. She could almost feel the judgement radiating from her gaze. 

“So you will end up living out your days here in Winterfell.” Cersei commented aloud as Eliana had to stop herself from flinching at the mention of her fate. She knew that she would live out her life in Winterfell but a part of her still hoped that she could get away from it too. She hoped that maybe the Maester was wrong and she wasn’t barren. She didn’t know of a man though that would take that chance. She hoped that she would find someone willing to take that chance with her. 

“Yes, your grace. I will stay in Winterfell the rest of my life.” Eliana solemnly said as she looked out at the rest of the feast where people were being merry and celebrating but she was doing anything but that. She wished that she wasn’t sitting next to her mother where the Queen could interrogate her. She wanted to be with her sisters or even her brothers but yet she was sitting up at the main table with the Queen questioning her about things that she often tried to forget. Eliana met her twin’s gaze and she pleaded with him to get her away from the Queen. Robb nodded his head at her and walked away from Theon, making his way up towards his sister. 

“My brother told me about how you sought out Tyrion. Why would a lady such as yourself seek out an imp like my brother?” Cersei spoke as Eliana tore her gaze from her twin who was still weaving his way through the crowd to her Queen. She tried not to show the anger that rose up inside her at the mention of Tyrion’s cruel nickname. 

The words that came out of Eliana’s mouth were ones that she would surely regret. “You obviously have never read a book, your grace, because Tyrion is not an imp.” The look on the Queen’s face when Eliana muttered those words shown exactly what she thought of the white and brown haired girl. 

“He is. He’s a little monster. He has been ever since he tore my mother open.” Cersei seethed at Eliana as the younger woman grabbed her goblet and downed the last of the wine before standing up and speaking words that she’d definitely regret. 

“Well, it isn’t Tyrion’s fault that your father fucked your mother.” 

With that, Robb came up behind his sister and grabbed her around her middle, dragging her away from the table and out of the Queen’s range because if Eliana stayed there any longer, she’d be dead. Eliana didn’t fight against her brother as he carried her through the crowded mess hall instead she just pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re going to get yourself in trouble with that mouth of yours.” Robb whispered into her ear as she huffed at him still seething at the Queen’s audacity to blame her brother for being born. 

Once he was out of the crowd, he set his sister down on her feet and turned her so that she was facing him. His eyes ran over his sister’s face and he watched as her expression turned from anger to fear. “What if she asks the king to kill me for what I said?” Eliana suddenly voiced as she reached forward and gripped her brother’s forearms in her hands tightly. Robb laughed softly at her words and drew her into his chest. He rested his head against the top of hers and gently rocked her back and forth. “I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you, Ellie.” He whispered into her hair as she gripped his jerkin in her hands and glanced up at the Queen who was glaring at her from her spot at the main table in the mess hall. 

“Why don’t you go outside and blow off some steam with Jon,” Robb suggested as he pulled away from Eliana and gently pushed her towards the doors that lead out into the courtyard where he knew Jon was. Eliana walked out the door and was immediately met with cold wind blowing in her face. She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself and looked around for Jon who was hitting a training dummy with a blunted sword with Ghost and Jakor laying down on the ground not far from him. Jakor perked up at the sight of his mistress and ran over to her side. 

Jon glanced over in her direction when he saw that Jakor had run off and quickly moved to her side when he noticed that she didn’t have anything to cover herself with. “Ellie, are you trying to catch your death?” Jon asked her as he pulled his fur cloak off where it was hanging and draped it over her shoulders.

“I’m not weak.” Eliana immediately responded with as she pulled Jon’s cloak closer to her body and moved over to where he had been hitting the dummy. Ghost got up from his spot on the ground and greeted Eliana with a lick to her hand which she responded to with a scratch behind his ear. 

“Ok, good to know. That wasn’t what I said but oh well.” Jon said as he hit the dummy a few more times before turning back to his half-sister. He could tell that she was sorry for snapping at him and he hated seeing her sad so he stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, bringing her into his side and pressing a kiss to the side of her temple. “Why are you out here, Ellie?” Jon asked her as she gently patted her hand against his chest, telling him that she was all good. 

“I  may have yelled at the Queen.” Eliana said timidly as she hid her face in the fur of Jon’s cloak  and tried her hardest to not look over at her half-brother. A laugh from a few feet away caught both Eliana and Jon’s attentions and the two turned to find Tyrion standing there. Tyrion was smiling up at Eliana as Jakor ran over to the small man’s side. 

“I have to say, Eliana, I liked you before but now I think I’m in love. You have guts to yell at my sister.” Tyrion said to her as her cheeks flushed at his words and she wanted to go hide somewhere. “Now what did my sister say for you to yell at her, my lady?” Tyrion stepped closer to Eliana with Jakor in tow who was looking up at Eliana like  _ look who I found.  _ Eliana shook her head at her direwolf and looked directly at Tyrion. 

“Your sister brought up a sore subject. I acted rashly.” Eliana told him as Tyrion looked over her shoulder at Jon who was watching the pair interact. 

“You’re Tyrion Lannister. The Queen’s brother.” Jon stated as Eliana almost rolled her eyes at him. It was plain and obvious who Tyrion was but Jon seemed to want to point out things that everyone already knew. 

“My greatest accomplishment. And you, you’re Ned Stark’s bastard, aren’t you?” Tyrion replied as Eliana sent a glare his way. She knew that being a bastard was a sore subject for Jon just like being barren was a sore subject for her and she hated when people called Jon that. She considered him her true brother even if he really wasn’t. She didn’t treat him any different than Robb, Rickon or Bran and she certainly didn’t treat him like Theon who she half the time wanted to kill. “Did I offend you? Sorry.” Tyrion called out to Jon as the dark haired man wondered away from where Eliana and the half-man stood. 

“You are the bastard though.” Tyrion pointed out as he walked closer to Jon while Eliana kept her distance wondering exactly how this conversation was going to go. 

“Lord Eddard Stark is my father.” Jon told him as Tyrion decided he needed to also point out that Catelyn wasn’t Jon’s mother. Jon already knew this very well considering that Catelyn hadn’t even wanted Jon to step foot inside the mess hall. 

“Let me tell you something, Bastard. Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you.” Tyrion told Jon but he meant these words also for Eliana. He knew that she too had things that could very easily hurt her and he didn’t want her to live like that her entire life. Tyrion turned from Jon and moved to walk to Eliana said but was stopped short when Jon spoke.

“What the hell do you know about being a bastard?” 

Tyrion turned his body half way and raised an eyebrow at Jon before speaking, “All dwarves are bastards in their father’s eyes.” He then held his hand out to Eliana and smiled up at her. “I assume that you still want that dance, mi’lady.” Eliana took Tyrion’s hand and walked back into the mess hall with him. 

* * *

 

Eliana would have thought dancing with a man Tyrion’s size would have been hard and awkward feeling but dancing with him felt good, natural. There was a height difference between them but it wasn’t that drastic. Not like it would have been if Eliana had been dancing with little Rickon who thought Tyrion was the coolest person ever. 

“My sister seems to be throwing knives at you, Lady Eliana.” Tyrion spoke as he pulled her out of her thoughts and she looked down at him. He was smirking up at her while glancing up at where his sister still sat at the main table. Eliana averted her gaze from Cersei and kept it locked onto her dance partner. “Now what could she have possibly said to make you angry, Eliana?” Tyrion pondered as Eliana lead him over to an empty table where the two sat down. Eliana couldn’t help but smile at how Tyrion’s legs didn’t reach the floor and dangled in the air. 

“Do you know how I got the name  _ White Wolf of Winterfell,  _ Tyrion?” Eliana asked him as he shook his head at her. He knew rumors about how she came by the name but he wanted to hear what she had to say. “I got really sick when I was little. So sick that the Maester told my mother that I probably wouldn’t make it through the night. I lived through the worst of it but the Maester said that I became barren because of it,” Eliana paused for a moment to gauge Tyrion’s reaction and when he really didn’t offer her any, she continued on with her story. “Your sister brought that up tonight. She asked why I hadn’t been married off to some Northern Lord and I told her the truth. I am barren and no Lord wants a barren wife.” Tyrion leaned in and reached to grasp Eliana’s hand in his own. Eliana smiled at the gesture and gently squeezed his hand. “She mentioned how I will most likely never leave Winterfell and that made things worse. Then she brought you up.”

Tyrion raised an eyebrow at Eliana’s words wondering exactly what his sister could have said to her about him and he knew that it couldn’t be anything good. “She said awful things and I snapped. Said that your mother dying wasn’t your fault. That she couldn’t blame you for your father fucking your mother. Then Robb carried me away before the Queen could say anything else.” Eliana told him as he full on laughed at her words and the fact of how blunt she had been with his sister. Then Tyrion took a moment to think about what all Eliana had told him. How she was supposedly barren and how no lord would want her for a wife. He shook his head at that thought and leaned down to press a kiss to Eliana’s hand. 

“Any man would be lucky to have you as a wife, Eliana. Barren or not.” Tyrion said to her as she smiled at him and stood up, dragging the little Lord back onto the dance floor. They danced for what seemed like hours and neither wanted to leave the other’s company. They were both content. 


End file.
